Activities

For information on the services we currently offer, view our customer site.

First and foremost, the activities provided by Grow to Work cater to individuals’ talents and capabilities.

Our trainees are usually out doing gardening and groundskeeping jobs across the Scottish Borders. They are also kept busy working on our site at Thornylee, growing flowers, fruit and vegetables. During the winter weather they are tasked with clearing snow in the local
area.

In order for Grow to Work to be self-sustaining,
we will develop our range of income generating activities to give both the employment opportunities sought by trainees, and
provide enough revenue to keep our programme running and allow trainees to be
paid a fair wage for their effort.

Cooking and baking: With suitable culinary facilities, we
would like to start an operation to produce jams and
chutneys from the fruit and vegetables grown by the trainees at Thornylee.

Small pet boarding: We have identified that there is
no provision for small animal boarding in the area, and consider Grow to Work
to be in an excellent position to provide this. 'Small Furry Animals' would provide a useful service for local people and employment
opportunities in a wide range of skills for trainees: care of animals, business skills and practice in woodwork making and maintaining the hutches.

Community cafe: Thornylee House was formerly a
hotel which in its heyday served afternoon teas in the garden. Grow to Work
could bring this back by creating a community café and visitor attraction which
could incorporate the large garden and plant nursery beside the busy A72 between Galashiels and Innerleithen.We are also looking to build a wood burning pizza oven to cook delicious homemade pizzas outdoors.

Ground care: We want to expand our capacity and take on more gardening and groundskeeping contracts from personal and business customers. We will use our lawn tractor to cut grass and maintain healthy lawns.

Wood crafts: We will sell items, both big and small, which have been crafted from wood.